Kansas gay bill creates conservative divide

The owner of the Riverside Cafe says all are welcome. But Kansas House Bill 2453 would let an employee refuse to work a gay wedding reception or rehearsal dinner if it was because of religious beliefs.

"We just want to make sure if there are sincerely held religious beliefs regarding marriage, that the government and court system can't force people to abrigate those beliefs," the Kansas Family Policy Council's Robert Noland says.

But, the Wichita Independent Business Association has come out against the legislation.

"It's the implications of what that could mean," WIBA's Tim Witsman says. "What if you have an employee who refuses to do something?"

Witsman says the law would make it harder for Kansas to attract new companies and the best workers.

"You can't ask questions about your employees when you are hiring them as to how they feel about these issues," Witsman adds. "That's against the law. So you just put us in all sorts of difficult positions."

But supporters say the bill takes into account those concerns, requiring--as the bill states--there be no "undue hardship to the employer."

Nolan says if there's no one else to do the job, the employer can still require the employee to do it.

The legislation is also dividing Republicans--for now, anyway. Senate President Susan Wagle doesn't like the language.

"The bill seems to be written in a very broad manner, and it appeared to me to be detrimental to the business environment in Kansas," Sen. Wagle says.

Meanwhile, Rep. Steve Brunk--who helped pass it in the House--agrees there should be some changes.

"They'll tweak the language or change it or alter it in some way to make it more palatable, so it is only about protecting those sincerely-held religious beliefs and also making sure the bill is not discriminatory in any way."

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